Former IDE MD Eli Avidar Appointed President of Carats.io

June 18, 18by Albert Robinson

(IDEX Online) – Carats.io has announced that it has appointed former Israel Diamond Exchange and Israel Diamond Institute Managing Director Eli Avidar as president.

Carats.io is an Israeli startup issuing the first cryptocurrency backed by diamonds, thereby establishing the first-ever financial market for diamonds. The company uses state-of-the-art Big Data and blockchain technologies to tokenize diamonds, and has created an algorithm that compares individual diamond grades to daily market conditions. This algorithm has so far been deployed to price over $10 billion worth of diamonds. The company, which is audited by international accounting firm Ernst & Young, raised $1.6 million in its first financing round.

"The international financial community is divided into those who are wary of digital currencies and those who are seeking a way to invest in them," said Avidar. "Regulators in the major markets are working intensely to find ways to integrate digital currencies into their trading systems.

"Carats.io is based on principles of transparency, stability and liquidity, which serves it well in complying with the demands of international regulations in areas of capital markets, anti-money laundering and Basel Committee standards. The company was established to be a bridgehead between the very traditional diamond market and the new financial world," he added.

Avidar, who is currently vice president of CIBJO, The World Jewellery Confederation, held a number of top level positions with the Israel Foreign Ministry and served in several postings abroad before joining the diamond industry more than a decade ago.